The Ohio State Buckeyes are in a nightmare scenario as they try to win a second national championship in three years. Losing Julian Sayin in the win over IU was the worst thing that could have happened. With him gone, the Buckeyes will have to rely on a backup quarterback.
While it is likely Luke Fahey who starts moving forward, Ryan Day has left it open between him and Tavien St. Clair. Regardless of who is starting the rest of the way, Jeremiah Smith has to be a big part of the game plan. Day and Arthur Smith need him to help out the young QB.
How Jeremiah Smith can help out the new QB
Smith is the best player in college football. If anyone can help out a young quarterback, it's him. Of course, the coaches need to get him in space so that Fahey or St. Clair can let him do what he does best: get yards after the catch. Expect a lot of crossing routes for that.
Getting Smith into some crossing routes just past the line of scrimmage so that the QB can find him would be very smart. Even if it's just a couple of yards down the field, that is something that can really help someone who has never started a college football game before.
I'm not a huge fan of wide receiver screens, but Smith might call a few of those too. Any way you can get the ball into Smith's hands is going to be a great way to move the ball. That's the best way for Ohio State to have success on offense, even without Sayin on the field.
Even handing the ball off to Smith on some end-arounds would help, too. He's fast enough to get on the edge and pick up some serious yards. Pop passes work for this, too. Getting touches for Smith will be harder now that defenses will be honing in on him even more.
Ohio State's defense is the ultimate reliable weapon for the new QB
Even though getting Smith the ball is the best way for the offense to be successful, the best way for Ohio State to win games moving forward is to rely on the defense. It's highly unlikely that the offense is going to be explosive enough to get into shootouts with other teams.
Matt Patricia's unit isn't as good as it was a year ago, but it is still pretty good. The Buckeyes have really turned it around since a poor effort against Illinois when it comes to stopping the run. All year long, they've done a really good job of keeping teams from gaining yards through the air.
If Day is able to win a national championship with the situation he has in front of him, he might be considered the best Ohio State football coach since Woody Hayes. He would have two national titles, which is more than any other coach but Hayes. Doing so with a backup quarterback would make it even more impressive.
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